Rachel Kelly's food website: "there is no love sincerer than the love of food!"

turkish poached eggs in yogurt (cilbir)

Turkish poached eggs in yogurt (cilbir)

I have a feeling that when I meet new people I have barely got the social niceties out of the way before I am grilling them on their favourite foods. Omer was no exception, as he told me about cilbir, a Turkish egg and yogurt dish, his favourite comfort food from childhood. Sadly, something got a bit lost in translation as Omer's passionate defence of gloopy eggs in a sour yogurt sauce sounded, frankly, revolting. But then Omer isn't much of a cook and hadn't actually cooked it himself. And in trying to get firmer details, I struggled as my Turkish is non-existent too.So Omer phoned home. If in doubt, get your mother to explain. He translated for me, I made notes. Now I began to understand the sheer beauty and simplicity of cilbir. Now that I understood how it is cooked, it sounded delicious. Good old anne!

This has become a firm favourite in the Kelly household, whether breakfast, lunch or a light supper. While it is usually served with pitta breads to mop up the egg yolk and yogurt, I like to plonk the egg and yogurt on a bed of wilted of spinach; it just feels right somehow.

Combine yogurt, fennel and garlic in a bowl. Season to taste. Set aside.

Put spinach in a saucepan with salt and pepper over a medium heat. Put a lid on the saucepan. Cook until wilted. Strain out any excess moisture over a sieve. Divide spinach between 2 plates.

Spread the spinach with the yogurt mixture. Set aside.

Melt butter in a small saucepan, together with the Aleppo pepper. Keep warm while you prepare the eggs.

Crack eggs into individual ramekins.

I poach eggs in the microwave, but the classic way to poach them is to add 2 tsp of vinegar to a pan of simmering water. Add a pinch of salt.

Using a spoon, create a whirlpool in the water (to help egg white wrap around yolk). Slowly tip each egg into the water. Turn off heat. Cook for about 3 minutes (so the white is firm but the yolk is runny) before draining onto kitchen paper.

No comments:

About Me

Born in Nottingham. Grew up in Kuala Lumpur and now based in north London. Marketing Communications professional, project manager, writer, researcher, tree hugger, home cook and food blogger. Trainee assassin sounds more interesting though but the reality is that I am cooking seasonally, learning to forage and to trust my instincts, and writing about food; discovering new ingredients and dreaming that I'm part kitchen witch, part mad scientist. I wish!